For the 2nd Viscount Avonmore with the same name, see William Yelverton, 2nd Viscount Avonmore

William Yelverton, 2nd Viscount Avonmore

William Charles Yelverton, 2nd Viscount Avonmore was an Irish nobleman. He was the son of Barry Yelverton, 1st Viscount Avonmore and Mary Nugent. He married Mary Reade, daughter of John Reade, on 1 September 1787. He held the office of Principal Registrar of the High Court of Chancery...

Major William Charles Yelverton, 4th Viscount Avonmore (27 September 1824 – 1 April 1883, Biarritz

Biarritz

Biarritz is a city which lies on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast, in south-western France. It is a luxurious seaside town and is popular with tourists and surfers....

) was an Irish nobleman and soldier. He was the son of Barry John Yelverton, 3rd Viscount Avonmore and Cecilia O'Keeffe. Major William Charles Yelverton gained the rank of Major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

 in the service of the Royal Artillery

Royal Artillery

The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...

. He was invested as a Knight

Knight

A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

, Order of the Medjidie 5th class.

Marriages

He married, firstly, Maria Theresa Longworth

Theresa Yelverton

Theresa Yelverton was an English woman who became notorious because of her involvement in the Yelverton case, a 19th century Irish law case, which eventually resulted in a change to the law on mixed religion marriages in Ireland....

 (died 1881) on 15 August 1857 in Rostrevor

Rostrevor

Rostrevor is a village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is within the Newry and Mourne District Council area. It lies at the foot of Slieve Martin on the coast of Carlingford Lough. The Kilbroney River flows through the village....

, County Down

County Down

-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. The marriage was dissolved. The union was childless.

He married, secondly, Emily Marianne Ashworth, daughter of Maj.-Gen. Sir Charles Ashworth and Mary Anne Rooke, on 26 June 1858 in Trinity Chapel, Edinburgh, Scotland; Emily Ashworth, at the time of the marriage, was the widow of Edward Forbes

Edward Forbes

Professor Edward Forbes FRS, FGS was a Manx naturalist.-Early years:Forbes was born at Douglas, in the Isle of Man. While still a child, when not engaged in reading, or in the writing of verses and drawing of caricatures, he occupied himself with the collecting of insects, shells, minerals,...

, the naturalist.

Thelwall v. Yelverton lawsuit

The validity of his first marriage was tested in the Yelverton case

Yelverton case

The Yelverton case was a famous 19th century Irish law case, which eventually resulted in a change to the law on mixed religion marriages in Ireland.Under a Statute of King George II The Yelverton case was a famous 19th century Irish law case, which eventually resulted in a change to the law on...

, a 19th century Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 law case, which eventually resulted in a change to the law on mixed religion marriages in Ireland.

Under a Statute of King George II (19 Geo. 2. c. 13), any marriage between a Catholic (Popish) and a Protestant or a marriage between two Protestants celebrated by a Catholic priest was null and void. Between 21 February 1861 and 4 March 1861, the trial of Thelwall v. Yelverton found that even though Major Yelverton was a Protestant, and Miss Longworth a Roman Catholic, and that they had been married by a Roman Catholic priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

, the marriage was valid. In March 1861 he was suspended from all military duties. On 28 July 1864 on appeal, the decision of Thelwall v. Yelverton was reversed, and the House of Lords

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

 decided that William's first marriage was illegal, and therefore his second marriage was valid.

Children

Major William and Mrs. Emily Marianne Ashworth had four children:

• Olive Ursula Yelverton (d. 5 January 1862)
• Captain Barry Nugent Yelverton (1859–1885)
• William Walter Aglionby Yelverton (1860–1861)
• Algernon William Yelverton (1866–1910)

Further reading